Masonboro Island is a destination for boaters to drop anchor and relax on nice summer weekends, but while the number of boaters should increase Memorial Day weekend, local law enforcement and coastal management officials agree the scene won’t be the unbridled party that invaded the island July 4, 2014.
New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon said the major problem he is expecting involves the amount of boat traffic. The sheriff’s office will have a patrol boat out near Masonboro Island to monitor the traffic and, if needed, will send deputies to Masonboro Island, McMahon said May 18.
Wrightsville Beach Police Department Captain P. Burdette said the town will not police the island itself, because it is not in Wrightsville Beach’s jurisdiction, but the department would expand its patrol throughout the waterways.
“I don’t doubt that there’s going to be an increased presence over on Masonboro,” he said. “It’s a nice area. … I imagine it will pick up quite a bit for Memorial Day weekend, but it doesn’t compare to the activities and celebration that go on over Fourth of July.”
N.C. Coastal Reserve stewardship coordinator Hope Sutton, who helps organize efforts to address littering and a variety of public safety concerns during the July Fourth holiday, said she will be in contact with the sheriff’s patrol boat but she doesn’t expect any major issues.
“We’ll go out there Tuesday and check it out and see if there’s some trash left behind,” she said May 19. “Last year, there was … one boatload of stuff.”
Sutton said Memorial Day and Labor Day tend to attract more families and local boaters to the island, whereas the Fourth of July draws more of a college-age crowd.
“Even on a pretty weekend that’s not a holiday, there are large numbers of people up in that whole north end area,” she said, “but a large majority of them are responsible visitors. They want the site to stay beautiful just as much as we do.”
Tricia Vance contributed to this story.
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